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The hero firefighter who sprang into action while on vacation to save more than a dozen people during a 2005 Lake George boating disaster will soon go from daredevil to detective.

He was among 77 firefighters elevated yesterday in a ceremony at Queens College: four to battalion chief, 41 to captain, 15 to lieutenant and 17 to fire marshal.

Firefighter Trevor McNeice, 30, joined the marshal ranks.

He had been vacationing with his family at Lake George in 2005 when they came upon one of the worst boating disasters in recent memory.

As their own boat was returning home from dinner, McNeice and his older brother, William, saw a tourist vessel flip over and dump 47 elderly sightseers into the water.

“Together with his brother, he jumped into the lake and swam to help the injured victims, some of whom without that intervention surely would have drowned,” FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said yesterday.

McNeice was credited with saving 15 people. In all, 20 died.

“It changed the way I look at life,” McNeice told The Post yesterday. “I think about things differently. You just never know when something could happen.”

For Capt. Joseph Duggan, the promotion had the added excitement of being the first he was actually able to attend.

When he made lieutenant in 2003, the now-16-year veteran was preparing to be deployed to Iraq, where he trained local firefighters.

“[The promotion] was something I worked really hard for, but at the time my focus was on my mission,” he said. “It was nice [to be here].”